SLS 22RS-3231 ORIGINAL
2022 Regular Session
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 123
BY SENATOR CONNICK
COMMENDATIONS. Commends Sergeant Stephen Rhodes for his dedicated service and
heroic actions.
1 A RESOLUTION
2 To commend Sergeant Stephen Rhodes for his dedicated service and heroic actions in
3 rescuing nine people from a capsized vessel.
4 WHEREAS, Sergeant Stephen Rhodes was patrolling on Grand Isle in Jefferson
5 Parish on May 7, 2022, when he observed a vessel with numerous passengers in distress near
6 the rock jetties and taking on water; and
7 WHEREAS, nearby good Samaritans shuttled Sergeant Rhodes to his truck and
8 patrol vessel in order to effect a rescue; and
9 WHEREAS, after launching his patrol vessel and arriving on scene, Sergeant Rhodes
10 found eight people clustered on the overturned vessel's hull and learned that a seven-year-old
11 girl was still underwater; and
12 WHEREAS, Sergeant Rhodes immediately dropped his patrol gear and dove in to
13 search for the girl under the capsized vessel; he quickly found her but she was unresponsive;
14 and
15 WHEREAS, with the assistance of the good Samaritans, Sergeant Rhodes lifted the
16 little girl onto his enforcement vessel, where he began CPR to revive her; and
17 WHEREAS, after two rounds of performing CPR, Sergeant Rhodes noticed eye
18 movement, then a heartbeat, and finally the movement of her chest as she began to breathe
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SLS 22RS-3231 ORIGINAL
1 again; and
2 WHEREAS, Sergeant Rhodes secured the girl in his vessel and sped to the nearby
3 Bridge Side Marina, where paramedics were waiting to airlift her to Children's Hospital in
4 New Orleans; and
5 WHEREAS, after a brief stay in the hospital, the young girl has fully recovered and
6 returned home; and
7 WHEREAS, Sergeant Rhodes is a fifteen-year veteran of the Louisiana Department
8 of Wildlife and Fisheries Enforcement Division, who has dedicated his career to educating
9 the public on safe boating practices and enforcing boating safety laws; he is recognized by
10 his supervisors and coworkers as a professional, dedicated to the community he serves and
11 the mission of the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.
12 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
13 does hereby commend Sergeant Stephen Rhodes on his years of dedicated service and on the
14 selflessness and bravery that he personified on May 7, 2022, when he rescued nine people
15 from their capsized vessel and saved the life of a seven-year-old girl.
16 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to
17 Sergeant Stephen Rhodes.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Jacob Wilson.
DIGEST
SR 123 Original 2022 Regular Session Connick
Commends Sgt. Stephen Rhodes on his heroic actions in rescuing nine people from a
capsized boat and resuscitating a seven-year-old girl.
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